IT’S clear by now that ESPN has no intention of backing off until every kid on the continent regards sports as an invite to behave like a desensitized, name-calling, wise-guy of a punk.

Saturday, during Game 1 of Nets-Raptors, ESPN found a kid in the stands dripping with “ESPN Attitude.” Naturally, he was rewarded with a close-up – a pat on the back, an “attaboy.”

The kid, maybe 14, was holding a sign that carried a nasty double put-down. It identified New Jersey as the home of garbage dumps, thus it further identified ex-Raptor Vince Carter as “trash.”

Imagine, the kid proudly held a sign calling Carter “trash.” And ESPN’s director was happy to tell a national audience that this fan and the message he displayed met with ESPN’s full approval. Hey, kids, this is how you get on ESPN!

So keep stepping on the gas, fellas; never pass on an opportunity, big or small. Then keep pretending that you can’t figure out how it got this way.

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Any chance the Raptors had Saturday ended with 16 seconds left, when Jason Kidd‘s long shot was rebounded by teammate Mikki Moore.

ESPN analyst Doris Burke then said what sounded both good and right. She scolded the Raptors with, “You’ve got to get that board.” But basketball analysts too often reflexively blame offensive rebounds on the defense.

The Raptors, in this case, had the floor beneath the backboard boxed-out, three men to none. Kidd’s shot banged the front of the rim, creating a high rebound back toward the foul line. The Raptors, it was worth noting, did what they were supposed to do; they were just unlucky.

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What Fox did Saturday – on tape, it had Robinson Cano introduce the Yankees’ lineup, Kevin Youkilis the Red Sox’s – is what YES and SNY should have long ago been doing before every Yanks and Mets telecast.

Not only is it a fun wrinkle, but it would allow us face, voice and personality time with nearly everyone on both teams, bullpen catchers and trainers included. Makes for fun out-takes, too.

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I want the old Tim McCarver back, the one who made you think rather than the one who tells you what to think.

McCarver now regularly rubs audiences the wrong way by attaching no-doubt-about-it analysis to episodes that are loaded with maybes.

Saturday, when Boston’s Mike Lowell fielded a bouncer down the third-base line, then threw wildly to second, McCarver praised Kevin Thompson, the Yankee runner on second, for having intentionally “baited” Lowell by starting to run to third.

But McCarver had no way of knowing whether Thompson’s initial move toward third was strategic or instinctive. And, it appeared, a good throw and tag would have nailed Thompson, returning to second. What then? McCarver likely would have jabbed Thompson for bad base-running.

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Lev Pope, who for years called the shots at WPIX-Ch. 11, died last week, at 83. Pope was responsible for a wonderful but long-gone tradition: the Saturday High School Football Game of the Week, first with Marty Glickman, then with Spencer Ross.

No match-ups driven by USA Today rankings or featuring Nike-muscled powerhouses, just local kids playing for their schools. And if you wondered why Ch. 11 always televised the Thanksgiving morning Iona Prep-New Rochelle game, well, it didn’t hurt that Pope’s kids went to Iona Prep.

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As the save totals continue to be parroted as meaningful, it’s worth noting Twins closer Joe Nathan‘s week. Wednesday, he started the ninth, allowing three hits and an earned run. Thursday, entering with two out in the ninth, he allowed a hit before ending the game with a strikeout. Saturday, he started the ninth and struck out all three batters.

Nathan had one appearance that was superb, one that was so-so and one that was dreadful – and was rewarded a save for each.

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If Lou Lamoriello had been as successful the last 15 years as the boss of an NFL or MLB franchise as he has been as the Devils’ boss, he’d widely be known as the best chief executive in all of team sports.